294 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



existence, prior to his death, he held one office or another. 

 During the first years of the existence of the Society he did not 

 take a very prominent or active part in the proceedings. There 

 were few members and the meetings were held in a large and 

 gloomy hall, and the conditions were by no means favorable for 

 producing an animated discussion. His health failed in 1886, 

 and his frequent absences from Washington prevented regular 

 attendance at the meetings. Later the Society passed beyond 

 this critical period of its existence. The meetings began to be 

 held at more congenial places, more papers were read, and the 

 discussions became of a more general character. In the broad 

 ening of the scope of the discussions, Dr. Riley contributed 

 perhaps more than any other member and he eminently enjoyed 

 a vigorous participation in all discussions, particulary those of a 

 general nature. His great knowledge in general and applied 

 entomology, his wonderful memory, his easy and graceful man 

 ner of expounding his views, will not be forgotten by the sur 

 viving members. These qualities in discussion made him a 

 formidable and usually victorous opponent to any member who 

 happened to express a differing opinion. That his participation 

 in these discussions is not more fully brought out in the pub 

 lished proceedings of the Society is explained by the difficulty 

 experienced by all scientific societies in accurately recording 

 discussions without the aid of a stenographer, and Dr. Riley 

 himself was always averse to writing out afterwards what he 

 had said in debate. 



During his lifetime several biographic sketches were published, 

 and a complete bibliography down to the close of the year 

 1889 was also put into print. Since his death obituaries have 

 been published in nearly all scientific periodicals, no matter 

 where published, or in what language. The best of these 

 are those written by Dr. G. Brown Goode and by Dr. A. S. 

 Packard, and published in Scitnce, December, 1895, and Janu 

 ary, 1896. The history of Riley's life, the importance of his 

 contributions to scientific literature, his triumphs in the field of 

 practical entomology, his remarkable power of organization, have 

 all been fully brought out. In view of this fact, and since the 

 publication of the Proceedings of this Society will be delayed, 



